Manchester City host Napoli in their opening match of their Champions League campaign as Pep Guardiola’s men face a tricky tie against the Italian champions.
City have had a mellow start to the season but a confidence-boosting 3-0 win over Manchester United last Sunday puts them in a strong place ahead of this clash which will feature former City captain Kevin de Bruyne.
De Bruyne joined Napoli in the summer after spending 10 years at City where he won six Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2023. He has made a fine start to his time in Serie A with two goals in three games and Antonio Conte is hoping the playmaking midfielder can tilt tonight’s match in favour of the Italian side.
English clubs have started strongly in the European top flight this year with Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool all securing victories this week and only Chelsea dropping points as they lost 3-1 to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Follow all the action from the Etihad Stadium with our live blog below
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Man City vs Napoli live
- Manchester City host Napoli in the Champions League with kick off at 8pm | Live on TNT Sports
- City defeated Man Utd in the Premier League on Sunday and bring confidence into the game
- Kevin De Bruyne returns to Etihad Stadium for first time since leaving City in the summer
- Man City XI: Donnarumma; Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Rodri, Silva, Reijnders; Foden, Haaland, Doku
- Napoli XI: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Buongiorno, Spinazzola; Lobotka; Politano, Anguissa, De Bruyne, McTominay; Hojlund
Kevin De Bruyne warms up at the Etihad
19:39
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Luke Baker
De Bruyne arrived a little earlier and has been going through his warm-up routine on the Etihad pitch.
It must have felt strange going into the away dressing room at the stadium rather than the home one
Manchester City vs Napoli prediction & best bets: Haaland to ruin KDB homecoming
19:32
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Luke Baker
Man City’s Champions League odds are a lot larger than in recent seasons - they were a best price of 11/4 on betting sites ahead of the 2024/25 campaign - but they are on a mission to prove themselves and regain the form of recent seasons, starting with a big win over accomplished opposition this week.
Napoli have made a positive start to the Serie A season with three wins from three games, and they currently top their own league table ahead of the trip to Manchester.
Nevertheless, home advantage and the derby win mean that football betting sites see the hosts as the favourites against the Italian champions, with City priced at 4/6 to win versus odds of 4/1 for a Napoli victory.
Here are our tips:
Conte reflects on McTominay's impact at Napoli
19:21
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Luke Baker
More from Conte now, who has spoken to TNT Sports ahead of tonight’s clash.
He was asked about the impact of Scott McTominay since joining from Man United and the Italian believes the Scot simply needed to get out of his comfort zone to thrive
Antonio Conte speaking about the impact Scott McTominay has had on Napoli since his arrival pic.twitter.com/vtjUWoLOX1
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 18, 2025
WATCH: Conte hoping De Bruyne remembers to play for Napoli in Man City return
19:10
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Luke Baker
Antonio Conte was having a bit of fun with the media in his press conference this week.
The Napoli boss clearly hugely concerned that Kevin De Bruyne might forget he no longer plays for Man City
Napoli team news
19:02
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Luke Baker
Meanwhile, Napoli line up pretty much as expected.
There’s a real Manchester feel to their attackers. Kevin De Bruyne starts as we thought, ex Man United midfielder Scott McTominay is also playing and Man United loanee Rasmus Hojlund is up top
Napoli XI: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Buongiorno, Spinazzola; Lobotka; Politano, Anguissa, De Bruyne, McTominay; Hojlund
De Bruyne, Hojlund and McTominay start for Napoli against Man City.
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 18, 2025
Imagine hearing that a few years ago pic.twitter.com/e3aM5JinNb
Man City team news
18:50
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Luke Baker
Here is the Man City team for this evening.
No rotation at all from Pep - he’s gone for the exact same starting Xi as the weekend’s Manchester derby.
Your City team to face Napoli
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 18, 2025
XI | Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Rodri, Bernardo (C), Reijnders, Foden, Doku, Haaland
SUBS | Trafford, Bettenelli, Ake, Nico, Savinho, Nunes, Bobb, Mukasa, Lewis, Mfuni pic.twitter.com/LNCKwpawV5
Team news upcoming...
18:43
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Luke Baker
We’re just a couple of minutes away from tonight’s team news. How will City line up?
Etihad getting ready for tonight's clash
18:35
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Luke Baker
The Etihad is starting to warm up ahead of Man City’s clash with Napoli this evening
Antonio Conte seeks Kevin De Bruyne insights ahead of Man City test
18:15
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Luke Baker
Napoli coach Antonio Conte has sought advice from Kevin De Bruyne as his team of “students” come up against the “teachers” of Manchester City.
Conte led his side to Serie A glory last season – the club’s second Scudetto in three years – but in terms of the Champions League, he still considers them novices.
De Bruyne has started well in Naples, scoring twice in his first three appearances in Serie A, and now Napoli begin their latest campaign in Europe’s elite competition at City, winners in 2023, and Conte is leaning on De Bruyne for help.
Conte, the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss, said: “It’s always been very careful preparation for every single match, we’re not doing anything particularly different, but I’ve spoken to Kevin. I’ve asked him a few things.
“He’s been a part of this club for 10 years and had a great coach like Pep Guardiola.
“Kevin will be excited to be playing but I’m hoping that after the starting whistle he will find his feet and remember he’s playing for our great Napoli and contribute like he has been doing.”
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s bid to make history at Man City after going unappreciated in Paris
18:02
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Luke Baker
Gianluigi Donnarumma was smiling as he said it. It would be best, he suggested, if his mother stays away from Manchester City against Napoli.
“My mum is a bit in trouble,” he said. A huge fan of the Serie A champions, her loyalties could be divided. So, perhaps, in future, could those of his young son, Leo. “I think he is going to be a true Neapolitan,” said Donnarumma.
The captain of Italy grew up idolising Gianluigi Buffon and was a prodigy of AC Milan, but he hails from Castellammare di Stabia, on the Gulf of Naples.
The temptation is to assume that the less picturesque parts of Manchester could come as a culture shock to City’s latest signing. For now, though, he exudes happiness. “It’s an honour and a pride to be here,” said a man who traded the Champions League winners, in Paris Saint-Germain, for a club who limped out of the competition without reaching the last 16 a few months ago.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola not surprised by Kevin De Bruyne’s impact at Napoli
17:47
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Luke Baker
Pep Guardiola is not surprised Kevin De Bruyne appears to have settled quickly at Napoli.
The former Man City playmaker joined the Serie A outfit in the summer after a decade at the Etihad Stadium and the 34-year-old returns to his old stomping ground this evening.
City manager Guardiola said: “It’s not a surprise, players at that level adapt so quick. They don’t need much time to adapt and perform well.”
Asked if he was looking forward to seeing De Bruyne, Guardiola said: “After the game, yes!”
Napoli early team news
17:34
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Luke Baker
On the Napoli front, all eyes will be on Kevin De Bruyne. He will be expected to start against his former club alongside former Manchester United star Scott McTominay in midfield, who has been a revelation in Serie A.
Romelu Lukaku, however, is out with a long-term knee injury, with United loanee Rasmus Hojlund hoping to lead the line.
Predicted Napoli XI: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Buongiorno, Spinazzola; Lobotka; Politano, Anguissa, De Bruyne, McTominay; Hojlund
Man City early team news
17:23
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Luke Baker
Pep Guardiola has a number of injuries to contend with going into his side’s Champions League opener, with quartet Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Mateo Kovacic all unavailable.
Meanwhile, John Stones will be assessed ahead of kick-off as he nurses a minor muscle problem.
Predicted Man City XI: Donnarumma; Lewis, Dias, Gvardiol, Ake; Rodri, Rodri; Savinho, Reijnders, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Haaland and Foden inspire Man City signs of old in demolition derby
17:13
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Luke Baker
It was Manchester City, but not as we knew them. Or so the theory went, anyway. But for Manchester United, it was just the City they remembered.
In 2022, 2023 and 2024, they had been destroyed in a derby in which both Phil Foden and Erling Haaland scored. So, too, in 2025: there can be evidence of City’s decline in other games, in a league table that showed them in 16th at kick-off, but not in their latest demolition derby.
For United, history repeated itself. Second best in Manchester again, they were cut apart. For Ruben Amorim, there was a first glimpse of thousands of City fans turning their backs on the game to do the Poznan. If he could not see some of the United supporters, it was because the away end was emptying long before the final whistle.
United conjured a late victory at the Etihad a month into Amorim’s reign. There was never a danger of a repeat.
Read Richard Jolly’s full report from an impressive weekend win for City:
Kevin De Bruyne returns to the Etihad
17:05
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Luke Baker
The big story this evening is Kevin De Bruyne’s return to the Etihad Stadium to face Man City.
By all accounts he didn’t want to leave City but wasn’t offered a new contract and so departed at the end of his deal for Napoli.
Of course, the fixture gods immediately paired the Serie A champions with Man City in the Champions League and here we are. The Belgian did a pitch walk at the ground he called home for so many years before a press conference yesterday.
How to watch Man City vs Napoli
16:59
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Luke Baker
Manchester City’s league phase clash with Napoli kicks off at 8pm BST on Thursday 18 September at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
Viewers in the UK can watch the game on TNT Sports 2, with coverage starting at 7pm BST. Subscribers can also watch the game on discovery+.
Everything you need to know about Man City vs Napoli
16:57
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Luke Baker
Kevin De Bruyne will turn from Manchester City friend to foe as his new side Napoli pay a visit to the Etihad Stadium in their Champions League opener.
De Bruyne was pivotal to City’s success when they brought home the continent’s most coveted crown in 2023, beating another Serie A titan in Inter Milan to lift the title in Istanbul.
However, the 34-year-old’s glittering decade-long spell in Manchester came to end in the summer when he joined the Italian champions at the end of his contract.
Thursday night will mark his first return to his old stomping grounds as league leaders Napoli look to continue their fine form and thwart Pep Guardiola’s side, who have comparatively endured a mixed start to the new campaign.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Man City vs Napoli
16:55
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Luke Baker
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Man City vs Napoli in the Champions League tonight.
It’s the Kevin de Bruyne revenge game as the Belgian returns to the Etihad Stadium to face the club where he is a legendary figure. It should be tasty
